Another Fix-it Friday Foto

Here's another attempt at playing with pictures thanks to the folks at I heart Faces.  I have Photoshop Elements 8, but I think my iphoto program works just as well for my needs.

Here is the original:

"Fixed" with Photoshop

"Fixed" with iphoto (I love my Mac!)

Wish I had more time to "play" today.  I know he has shadows under his eyes and some crazy color cast on his face, but maybe next week when I have more than three minutes. :D

I hope everyone has a blessed day (and weekend!).  I'm hoping to take our Christmas card photos this weekend (a girl can dream, right?).

Lessons Learned

Just a few tidbits I learned over the last week or so:

1. Designers on HGTV that say "A master bedroom should be a retreat, free of children's item" do NOT live at my house.  Nor do I think they have children.  My master bedroom usually has children AND their items in it.  They like my bathtub too.

2.  Never question a 3 year old when she says she is telling the truth.  Skylar commented on a child wearing a blue shirt and blue pants last week.  She said, "that girl is in all blue."  I replied "and you are in all pink!" She said, "Not ALL pink." I pointed out her pink pants, pink shirt, and pink shoes.  In my mind...all pink.  "No mommy, I'm NOT all pink, see?" She then proceeded to pull her pants down in the school parking lot to show me that her panties were indeed NOT pink.  I shouldn't have argued.

3.  Craigslist brings out the flakiest people!

4.  A good church service is like food to a famished body!

5.  My baby turned 20 months old yesterday.  I don't know why I continue to use months or when I will stop, but there is just such a major difference between 18 and 20 months.  Maybe next month I will start saying "She will be 2 in March" and let others do the math.  Maybe.

6.  I need to just get over the last ten pounds and buy new jeans so I can be comfortable. :)

7. We got rid of our highchair because Bailey kept standing up in it and I thought it was unsafe.  She figured out how to unbuckle herself and the tray didn't sit close enough to keep her in.  She wanted to be AT the table like her sisters, so we bought her a booster seat with a tray (and a buckle of course).  It's working beautifully.

See? She stays put nicely now.  Or not.

When you have monkeys for kids, you can't confine them.  No matter how hard you try.

8.  My kids are the target audience for EVERY commercial during the holidays.

9.  The best "gatherings" are sometimes the ones without much planning.

10.  Probably most importantly, no matter what the "odds" are according to man, God is still 100% on the throne and in the miracle business!  If you don't believe me, check out Mckmama's blog about her precious boy!

Hope you had a good week last week too! On to another busy week for us!

We have a Winner!

Wow! What an amazing turnout for my first giveaway! I secretly decided that for every ten entries I received, I would pick one winner (never assuming I would get past 19), but there were exactly 20!
So, I have TWO winners to announce!! I used random.org to generate two numbers for me.

But before I announce them, I wanted to extend an offer to everyone that participated.  My normal charge for a blanket is $15 plus $3 shipping.  If you entered, but did not win, I am waiving the shipping until January (just a little 'thank you' for participating).  Simply email me and I can send pics of my current fabric options.  Then, I will put it up on my etsy site with a listing specifically for you!

The two winners chosen by random.org are:

Jaimie at The Wonder Years
and
Julie at The Peapod Four (plus one)

Yay! Congrats ladies! Let me know if your blanket will be for a boy or a girl and I will send you the fabric options.

Have a blessed weekend!

A big finish!

I love projects! It's nice to have something to work on that has an actual ending (as opposed to the piles of laundry that seem to never end).  Of course, finishing it, is almost as exciting as starting it!

The last couple weeks, I have been working on a crib bedding project for one of my nearest and dearest friends, Beana.  She has three girls, like me, and wanted something new for bambino number three (Miss Lily).  She has a penchant for all things red, so she went looking for a red crib set, only to find that few exist (and those that do are WAY too expensive).  She knew that I had run into the same problem with my third (not finding the perfect crib set), so I ended up making my own.  She asked me to help her make one for Miss Lily and I was more than happy to oblige.

Beana has always been so giving, so I was happy to be able to give back a little something to her.  We both perused fabric websites and came up with a few ideas.  Ultimately, we both just fell in LOVE with Jill Finley's line "Meet Me In the Meadow."  Beana picked the red floral, the yellow dot, and the green vines (I picked the red vines to do the binding and ties on the bumper).  Since the nursery walls were already yellow, it was a perfect fit!

I found a bumper on clearance and use it as a "fill" bumper (so much easier than actually measuring!).  Out of the red floral (Beana's favorite), I did a straight crib skirt; then used all three fabrics to make a crib quilt.  Since she said, "I will be using it, not hanging it up" I used high quality, low loft, cotton and bamboo batting.  The backing is a solid red fabric that I happened to have in my stash.  Altogether, the project took six yards (not including the backing). I told Beana it took 3 yards so that I could surprise her and bless her with the remainder...shhh, don't tell her. :D
(Sorry about the quality of the pictures. They really do not do this fabric justice.  My camera is on it's last leg and flashes whether I want it to or not; even with tons of natural light).

I used EVERY last bit that I could.  This is literally all I have left (one 8 inch square and some yellow strips).

The bumper has all three fabrics in 26 inch sections.  The binding is the red vines (as well as the ties).

The quilt is my favorite part.  Beana and I played with a block layout and she picked the red center.  I love how it turned out and think she made the right choice! The red is definitely the highlight here!! After I got it stitched together, I decided to do just an antique triple saddle stitch. I didn't want to do anything freehand that would take away from the beauty of the fabric itself.

The rest of the red floral was used for binding (and then washed and dried to make it wrinkly).

I wish I had enough to make a sheet and curtains for her, but it wasn't in the budget for either of us this time around.  Maybe someday :)

It was so fun to work on, and equally as fun to be done.  Since my creative space is my dining room table, it's always nice to put the machine away (even for a day).

And my living room that serves as my "layout" space has been returned to it's tidy state (with blankets and the crib set all ready to go to their new homes)

Maybe once it is placed in Lily's nursery, she will post pictures of it actually "in use."

On to my next project!

Today is the last day to enter my giveaway! I will be picking a name tonight and posting tomorrow. Good luck everyone!

The Patch and Princesses

Every year we go out to the pumpkin patch, ride ponies, feed goats, take a hay ride, and pick pumpkins.  I always love the pictures that result.  We figured out this year that going on a Friday is MUCH better than going on a Saturday or Sunday.  It was fairly empty and a whole lot less stressful.  It was close to sunset so the lighting wasn't all that great, but the girls didn't seem to mind.

Bailey hitching a ride out to the patch in a wheelbarrow

My little Hercules

I attempted to get a shot of all three girls, but they were NOT havin' it!

Another attempt

I finally gave up and just took pictures of the girls individually

We had so much fun!

Halloween rolled around and we were part of our church's "Trunk or Treat" at the Fall Festival.  Since we were so busy, I hardly had a chance to take pictures of the girls in their costumes.  But I did manage to get a few.  We don't make a big deal out of Halloween at our house.  The girls just chose costumes from our dress up chest.  I did end up having to make a headband for Reagan, but I think that's a piece of cake compared to the work some parents put in for their children's costumes.

Reagan was a flower girl, although everyone guessed she was a princess.

(and yes that is Christmas stuff behind her.  Our trunk was decorated with a Christmas theme for the Halloween Trunk or Treat.  You work with what ya got!)

Skylar was Sleeping Beauty (and would NOT stand still for a picture)

Bailey was Snow White (and discovered a love of chocolate)

Personally I'm glad to have Halloween behind us so folks will take down their ghoulish decorations and put up their "Fall" inspired ones instead.  I much prefer Harvest to Halloween.

Playing with pictures

I have always admired how others can "fix" their photos (or enhance them). The contributors over at "I heart Faces" are amazing! On their Friday "fix-its" you can actually get tutorials on how to make your own photos look better. This is their Friday download this week.

I took a whirl at it and had fun playing! This is what I came up with:

I'm obviously still a novice, but it's so fun to play! Head over to their website to see how to enhance your own photos!
Don't forget there's still time to enter my first giveaway!

My First Giveaway!

UPDATED: POST IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED TO MORE ENTRIES.  A WINNER HAS BEEN CHOSEN.  WATCH FOR DETAILS. THANKS!

As if I didn't have enough on my plate, I've decided to do a giveaway! I figured since my fabric is spread out across the dining room table, it's as good a time as ever!

I've been making baby blankets for a few years now (and even sold a few). I've learned a lot along the way, and I'm still learning the ins and outs of my machine. My blankets are perfectly imperfect, like me. Each one is unique and one of a kind. Here's one I just finished this week:





If I can find a way to be creative with the name embroidery, I try to. Otherwise, it's just a block or a rounded applique like this one:



I make them a generous size so they work for tummy time, and can be used even when baby gets bigger. And yes, I do make boy ones too (the two I just finished this week happened to be for little girls).

If you would like to win one for yourself (or give one as a gift), then simply leave a comment. I will choose a winner at random on November 5th. Then, all you need to do is let me know if the blanket is for a boy or a girl, and the name you would like embroidered. (I'll also send pics of the fabrics I have on hand so you can choose one that you like).

Good luck!